1. NAVIGATING the PAST, PRESENT and
FUTURE
Strategic Triangulation

2. The Concept of Triangulation
• CONCEPTUAL
triangulation is the use of
three distinct yet related
ideas that permit greater
insight into each of the
elements (analysis) as
well as the resulting
combination of elements
(synthesis).
Idea 1
Idea 2 Idea 3

3. Past-Present-Possible Triangulation
Principles
• Principle 1: Every
organization’s
past, present and possible
(future) are active all the
time
– The past includes all the
historic RESULTS that an
organization may have
achieved AND our
understanding of those
results (which changes over
time)
PAST
PRESENT POSSIBLE

4. Past-Present-Possible Triangulation
Principles
• Principle 1: Every
organization’s
past, present and possible
(future) are active all the
time
– The present includes all those
RESPONSES (utilizing
tangible and intangible
resources) that are being
made today to achieve future
results we desire
PAST
PRESENT POSSIBLE

5. Past-Present-Possible Triangulation
Principles
• Principle 1: Every
organization’s
past, present and possible
(future) are active all the
time
– The possible involves all the
future REPOSITIONING
effects we desire from our
present responses.
PAST
PRESENT POSSIBLE

6. Past-Present-Possible Triangulation
Principles
• Principle 2: The
past, present and possible
are connected in terms of
– What we OBSERVE
– What we UNDERSTAND
– What we DECIDE
– How we ACT
PAST
PRESENT POSSIBLE
O
U
D
A

7. Past-Present-Possible Triangulation
Principles
• Principle 2: The
past, present and possible
are subjective
evaluations, not mere
“facts.” At
individual, interpersonal
and institutional levels we
create meaning, not
simply discover it.
PAST
PRESENT POSSIBLE
O
U
D
A

8. Past-Present-Possible Triangulation
Principles
• Principle 3: Strategic
triangulation involves
applying the art, science
and craft of strategic
thinking to
enhance, deepen, broade
n and sharpen the ways
we deal with the
past, present and
possible.
PAST
PRESENT POSSIBLE
O
U
D
A

9. Ideas for Strategic Triangulation
• What follows are “strategic thinking
triangles” that are designed to
encourage strategic thinking by
bringing together a triangle of ideas
that capture both the distinctive
nature of past, present and possible
dimensions an organization faces
and the ways those dimensions
interact to create the organization
building blocks, boundaries and
barriers that “feed” an organization’s
strengths and limitations as it
encounters its opportunities and
threats.
•Three related ideas
•Organizational strengths
and limitations
•Environmental
opportunities and threats
•Building
blocks, boundaries and
barriers to strategic
success

10. Strategic Triangles
PAST PRESENT POSSIBLE
Analysis Action Anticipation
Becoming Behaving Believing
Calibrating Communicating Conceptualizing
Dissecting Doing Dreaming
Evaluating Embracing Extending
Fact-finding Forging Futuring
Gathering Growing Germinating
Head Hands Heart
Investing Initiating Imagining
Judging Joining Jettisoning
Questions to investigate for
each strategic trio of ideas:
1. How can each idea
contribute to your
understanding of strategy?
2. What impact might each of
the ideas have on your
understanding of the other
ideas in the trio?
3. Taken together, what do the
ideas share as a common
theme (or themes)?
4. What are the potential
building block, boundary and
barrier issues suggested by
each idea or some
combination of the ideas?

11. Strategic Triangles
PAST PRESENT POSSIBLE
Keeping Kneading Kindling
Learning Leveraging Leaving
Mindset Methodology Mind-mapping
Nurturing Navigating Networking
Organization Operations Opportunities
Preservation Performance Prediction
Quantification Quickness Quest
Reflecting Responding Repositioning
Selecting Succeeding Seeking
Tracking Transforming Testing
Questions to investigate for
each strategic trio of ideas:
5. What are the
strength/limitation and
opportunity/threat issues
suggested by each idea or
some combination of the
ideas?
6. How would each of the
strategic ideas lead us to
define strategic success and
strategic failure?
7. How do each of the ideas
help us better understand the
nature of an organization’s
past, present and possibility
dimensions?

12. Strategic Triangles
PAST PRESENT POSSIBLE
Understanding Undertaking Underwriting
Valuing Viewing Venturing
Wealth Work Wondering
eXceptional eXcellent eXtraordinary
Yoking Yielding Yearning
Zoning Zeroing in Zealous
Questions to investigate for
each strategic trio of ideas:
8. How do each (or the
combination) of the trio of
ideas help us broaden our
strategic observations,
deepen our strategic
understanding, sharpen our
strategic decisions and
energize and focus our
strategic ideas?
9. Can you think of a better
(more fruitful, more precise)
word idea for any of the trio
of ideas?
10.Do you see any strategically
stimulating relationships
between one or more of the
idea trios?